The unexpected tragic events that have occurred in Japan have left many in doubt. Doubt about what the future is going to be like for Japan, doubt about whether family members are alive or dead, doubt about if there is any way to recover from such devastation. Recovery is going to take time after the destruction of homes and major power plants along the Japanese coast. Help is greatly needed. Many people and organizations have already been very generous and have provided aid and money. But here in the United States, Major League Baseball has the most players from Japan and has been the most active sport in the Japan relief efforts thus far.
“We have been in communication with the members of our office in Tokyo,” said Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig. “Through our shared love of baseball for more than a century, Japan is a particularly special place to us, and we are deeply saddened by the disaster that has confronted the nation.”
Several Japanese players across the league have already expressed their concerns. Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Boston Red Sox expressed his concerns when he could not find his grandmother several days after the tsunami hit Japan. Fortunately Matsuzaka was finally able to contact his grandmother to find out that she was safe. Ichiro Suzuki was in a similar situation when he could not contact his parents, who were eventually found. Suzuki has made a personal donation of $1.25 million dollars which was matched by his team, the Seattle Mariners. Takashi Saito of the Milwaukee Brewers was given permission to leave spring training so that he could locate his family. Saito has since located his wife and their 3 daughters but has not had the same kind of luck with locating his parents. Two Oakland A’s players Hideki Matsui and Kurt Suzuki are both from Japan and were both devastated when they heard the news. Matsui has not heard from his family that lives in Japan but is not worried because his family does not live in the area of Japan that the tsunami hit. Suzuki on the other hand is very concerned because he has not heard from his family who live in the area that was most affected by the tsunami.
Teams across the league have set up fundraisers to help Japan. The Los Angeles Dodgers have teamed up with the American Red Cross and have already raised $60,000 and will continue their fundraising once the season starts. The San Diego Padres are having Japanese Heritage Night which is scheduled for May 20th in which the Padres are going to accept donations which will all go to Japanese relief efforts. The Oakland A’s have also set up a Japanese Heritage Night which is scheduled for April 3rd. The A’s will be facing Ichiro Suzuki’s Seattle Mariners that day in a game where Suzuki’s full attention will be on the field, but gratitude will be to the Oakland organization. Donations are still being made by Major League Baseball as Japan starts their climb out of this giant hole.
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